Gold Coast man accidentally killed ex-girlfriend, Coroner rules

The young woman died after being shot once in the chest at a home after her ex-partner tripped going up the stairs.

A Gold Coast woman being fatally shot by a gun which was inside her former boyfriend’s bag was “essentially an accident”, the Coroner has ruled.

In a decision released this week, the Coroner finds Christos Panagakos could not be found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of his former partner Ivona Jovanovic.

Ms Jovanovic died after being shot once in the chest at Panagakos’ home in September 2019.

Panagakos tripped going up the stairs, and the gun in his bag went off. Ms Jovanovic was standing at the top of the stairs. Witnesses gave conflicting and vague accounts to police, and prosecutors were forced to abandon a manslaughter charge against Panagakos. From there, Ms Jovanovic’s death became the Coroner’s to investigate.

Police compelled numerous witnesses to give evidence about Ivona Jovanovic’s death, including by obtaining undisclosable testimony from the Crime and Corruption Commission which, specifically, could not be used to incriminate each individual. Picture: Instagram

“I have concluded that Mr Christos Panagakos caused the death of Ms Ivona Jovanovic,” Coroner Donald MacKenzie said in his decision, released on Thursday.

“However, on the evidence before me this was essentially an accident.

“In terms of the Criminal Code (Qld), his criminal negligence could not be established to warrant a prosecution for involuntary manslaughter. Clearly many of the witnesses at this inquest were not telling the truth or were obfuscating its discovery.”

The grief felt by Ms Jovanovic’s family had been amplified by the lack of clear answers, the Coroner said.

“It is evident from the statement read aloud at the inquest by Mr Vejiko Jovanovic, the deceased’s father, that the deceased was a happy, kind and caring person.

An image from Coroner Donald MacKenzie's inquiry into the death of Ivona Jovanovic.

“Her death has had a devastating and lasting impact on her family and those close to her. The lack of clarity about how she died can only have aggravated that grief.”

The convoluted and arduous police investigation began on the night of September 8, 2019. Ms Jovanovic was shot about 8.20pm, and died a few hours later in hospital.

However, no evidence ever came to light that Panagakos had any intention to kill Ms Jovanovic. The firearm involved has never been found and police never worked out who owned the gun. Panagakos and another man in the house blamed their use of methamphetamine for an inability to recall what happened.

Witness Daine Walker told police he was outside when he heard “a thud and then a bang like a gun going off”.

Christos Panagakos said he initially fled the scene of his friend’s death so he would not be blamed.

“Christos was standing at the top of the stairs, I remember him saying ‘I tripped’ and ‘it just went off,’ Walker said in a police statement.

“(Panagakos said) ‘What did I do? F**k I didn’t mean it, I was coming up the stairs’.

“I said something like ‘brother, relax just call the ambulance’.”

At Panagakos’ house that night, six friends were hanging out at various stages, “having a gym session, taking illicit drugs” and they planned to go out for dinner.

Panagakos and Ms Jovanovic had dated as teenagers, but were friends, and she came over during that night in September. Panagakos’ mother was at the house, and four of the friends had left before the gun went off.

Panagakos fled from the house after his mother called triple-0, but was arrested the next day and charged with manslaughter.

Two of the friends declined to give the police a statement. Panagakos’ mother gave multiple, varying accounts to the triple-0 call taker, police at the scene and to detectives, the Coroner said.

“One can understand her motive in trying to protect her son,” the Coroner said.

“However, her attempt initially to suggest that the deceased herself, brought the handgun in a handbag to 6A Renfrew Drive, Highland Park residence and her placing her son, Christos at the bottom of the staircase at the time of the firearm discharge, was in my view reprehensible.

“She was not a witness of credit.”

Originally published as Gold Coast man accidentally killed ex-girlfriend, Coroner rules